Former French President Sarkozy to Face Trial for Fraud

Sarkozy will go to court on the order of a magistrate to answer allegations that his presidential campaign spent well above the legal ceiling of 22.5 million euros and tried to cover it up fraudulently, the office said

Former French President and newly elected French conservative party UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy, (L) , and Alain Juppe, mayor of Bordeaux, ADVANCE FOR STORY SLUGGED FRANCE ELECTION BY SYLVIE CORBET. FILE - This Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014 file picture shows former French President and newly elected French conservative party UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and Alain Juppe, mayor of Bordeaux, waving to the media after their meeting in Paris, France. Donald Trump’s election has given a fresh boost to French conservative leaders competing in a presidential primary Sunday _ and has emboldened far right leader Marine Le Pen, convinced that her anti-immigration, anti-Islam views can lead her to the presidency in five months. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File), photo: AP/Christophe Ena, File

PARIS – Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was ordered Tuesday to stand trial in an inquiry into alleged campaign finance fraud during his failed 2012 re-election bid, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

Sarkozy and 13 other “protagonists” will go to court on the order of a magistrate to answer allegations that his presidential campaign spent well above the legal ceiling of 22.5 million euros ($24 million) and tried to cover it up fraudulently, the office said.

The claims center on whether the 61-year-old politician was aware of alleged false billing and fraud linked to PR company Bygmalion, where some executives have acknowledged false accounting.

Sarkozy denies any wrongdoing and his camp says it will appeal the decision.

The news may further erode public trust in politics as Sarkozy’s former no. 2, Francois Fillon, their party’s candidate in this spring’s presidential election, fights for his political life over an investigation into whether well-paid political jobs he gave his wife, son and daughter were fake.

Conservative lawmakers have been summoned Tuesday for a meeting at Fillon’s headquarters to form a united front around the ex-prime minister ahead of the April-May elections.

In 2011, former President Jacques Chirac was given a two-year suspended jail sentence in a scandal over phony jobs.